


nearly witches (ever since we met)

by bleuboxes



Category: To All the Boys I've Loved Before Series - Jenny Han, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before (2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, F/M, Humor, Romance, also!!! peter is a quidditch star so, but we love a good pine, lots of pining, you can pry slytherin! lara jean out of my cold dead hands
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-25
Updated: 2018-08-25
Packaged: 2019-07-02 04:40:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,814
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15789141
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bleuboxes/pseuds/bleuboxes
Summary: The terms to their arrangement are set, and Lara Jean jokes about making an unbreakable vow. Peter does not find this funny.So they sign a piece of parchment instead.It’s all very anti-climactic.





	nearly witches (ever since we met)

**Author's Note:**

> IM BACK BITCHES
> 
> i wrote this in a disgustingly short amount of time (4 hours rip) and im actually quite fond of it so like,, whatever
> 
> also the fact that i didnt think i was gonna write anything more before i left for school but here we are,, exceeding expectations.
> 
> anyway pardon any errors. 
> 
> title is from the panic! at the disco song of the same name

If there is one thing that you need to know about Lara Jean Covey before getting involved in this narrative, it is this:

She never intended to be sorted into Slytherin.

Lara Jean is, quite possibly, the most unworthy person of being in the Slytherin House. She craves affection – but she hates attention; she doesn’t want to be loved by everyone, just by a few people. And, well, _okay,_ she is ambitious, but not in the traditional Slytherin sense. Her ambition manifests itself in unorthodox ways - like the time when Margot came home during her first Christmas Holiday and raved about how awesome being a Ravenclaw was, and Lara Jean decided she wanted to increase her chances of being in the same house as her sister by memorizing the dictionary.

Again, ambitious, just not in the way that Salazar may have intended.

She does tend to over-think things, and well, she will do anything to save her skin.

 _Huh,_ maybe she is more Slytherin than she thought.

But that’s beside the point; being sorted into Slytherin led to a giant pile of problems – first of which being that she was no longer tolerated by her friends, who as it turned out, were sorted into the other houses.

She was rather devastated by this when she was eleven, but Gen turned out to be a _massive_ bitch, and Peter maybe has, like, one braincell (okay, so that’s a little mean, but the kid’s all Quidditch and he’s dating Gen, so, there's her point proven). Even _Margot_ seemed mad that Lara Jean was a Slytherin.

There was (and still is) that social stigma within Hogwarts that all Slytherins are inherently bad – and a lot of the other students were just plain up rude to her because she was sorted into that house.

Granted, there are a lot of terrible people in her house, but _merlin,_ can’t her classmates ignore those bigoted idiots instead of people like Lara Jean, who wouldn’t hurt a fly if given the chance.

Regardless, that was ages ago.

Well, six years ago.

But Lara Jean’s found her niche. As it turns out, her friends are not selectively all Slytherin; Chris is a Gryffindor, Lucas is a Hufflepuff, and Kitty (who is more of a friend than a sister) is also in Gryffindor.

 _So what,_ her little corner of friendship isn’t that large; she doesn’t mind. It’s her last year; the time for worrying about cliques is so year two. She’s proud of where she is and of who she knows.

In just a few months, she’s not going to be seeing any of these people again – so if she’s not fond of them (and they’re not fond of her), it isn’t a big deal at all.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Lara Jean has always wanted to be a writer – of that she is sure; so when people ask her what she plans on doing when she leaves Hogwarts, she says matter-of-factly that she’s going to try to get a job writing for the Daily Prophet. If she can’t get in there, she’s going to have a go at The Quibbler (because between the nonsense they spew about ridiculous creatures, they do have quite factual reporting.

For some reason this is scorned more than Peter’s _I’m Going Pro With Quidditch_ answer.

This pisses Lara Jean off to high end.

But Peter’s a _Gryffindor_ , and _it’s okay_ that he wants to do that sort of thing. Lara Jean, _well_ – she’s a Slytherin – she can do better than being a journalist! She can go into politics, or be a potions master – or anything she sets her mind to (she’s got the grades).

It’s like people can’t believe that she wants to settle for something as mundane as reporting –even though reporting is mundane as you make it.

Chris has it in her head that she’s going to be part of the band that’s more popular than The Weird Sisters – Lara Jean comments that’s an easy feat. Chris threatens to hex her.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Lara Jean’s first class of seventh year is potions. She has class with the Gryffindors, so she plans on partnering up with Chris. Except Chris doesn’t come to class, and Lara Jean spends the time leading up to class in a state of panic – thinking of all the people that could sit next to her is driving her up the fucking wall –

What if it’s Gen?

What if it’s _Peter?_

It’s not going to be either of them, though; they’ve been dating since year four, and they partner up for everything when given the chance.

Plus, she totally would have heard if they broke up – they are the most talked about people in the school for some godforsaken reason; people are ridiculously invested in their lives.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

So, Peter and Gen broke up.

How does she know this, you may be asking?

Oh, because _Peter fucking Kavinsky_ sits down next to her in potions, and Gen is sitting in the opposite corner of the room with Mulciber, glaring daggers at Lara Jean.

If that wasn’t bad enough, Chris comes to class late, glances Lara Jean’s way, and smirks; Chris is convinced that Lara Jean has a crush on Peter for some reason.

Chris is totally wrong, by the way; Peter just magically happens to cross just about every one of Lara Jeans thoughts.

He’s _invasive_ , that’s what he is.

It only gets worse from there; Peter decides to ignore Slughorn’s lecture about the Volubilis Potion and explain the ins and outs of his break-up with Gen – like Lara Jean cares.

“I’m not your diary, Kavinsky,” she whispers venomously, hoping he gets the hint.

It’s to no one's surprise that he doesn’t.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Gen corners her after class, because for some reason, she feels threatened by Lara Jean; this is perhaps the stupidest thing that Gen’s ever done because everyone and their mother knows Lara Jean is perhaps the least threatening person on the planet.

(People do happen to get intimidated by the fact that she’s a Slytherin though; in this case there does seem to be a perk to being in the most hated house – who would have guessed.)

“Stay away from Peter,” Gen snarls. Lara Jean fights the urge to roll her eyes. Gen knows for a fact that Peter sat by Lara Jean, not the other way around; plus they’ve broken up, so what Peter does or doesn’t do isn’t Gen’s problem anymore.

“Whatever the hell is going on with you two is not my problem,” Lara Jean says, “maybe you should take this up with him.”

Then she turns and walks up the stairs, like a fucking boss.

Maybe Slytherin was a better fit than she believed.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Two months go by.

Two months of pure normality (sans the fact that Peter is now her partner in potions – and a terrible one at that).  Granted, Chris wasn’t much better, but it was _Chris_ , and that’s all that matters.

It’s two months of being able to talk shit on Gen without people noticing her every move, it’s two months of eating chocolate frogs with Lucas in the Library as they try to study for Arithmancy.

It’s two months of sneaking down into the kitchens with her hellion of a sister to get a midnight snack and to catch up.

It’s two months of complete and utter simple bliss.

 

 

* * *

  

 

December starts fine enough. She hears through the grapevine (aka Chris) that Gen’s dating some older guy now – apparently he’s someone pretty high up in the Pure Blood circle of society.

Lara Jean’s only a half-blood, and her mother died when she was very young, so her knowledge of magical society is limited to the extent of knowledge her muggle father has.

Which is not that much.

That detail is extremely irrelevant in comparison to what happens next.

Lara Jean is mid breakfast conversation with Chris and Lucas at the Hufflepuff table, when Peter barges in and takes a seat right next to her.

She takes a bite of her toast as he begins to speak.

“Can I talk to you?”

“Isn’t that what you’re doing?”

“Yeah,” he says, “But, like, in private?”

“Whatever you need to say to Lara Jean, you can say in front of us,” butts in Chris. Lara Jean glares at her.

“Ignore her,” she tells Peter as she stands up, “We can talk in the second floor bathroom; no one really ever goes in there.”

“Isn’t that where Moaning Myrtle is?”

“Yeah? So? She’s really not as annoying as everyone says she is once you get to know her.”

“Lara Jean,” interrupts Chris, yet again, “You do realize you’re the only person _ever_ to befriend Moaning Myrtle?”

“ _Shut up, Chris_ ,” Lara Jean says through a frown as she grabs Peter’s hand and drags him out of the Great Hall with red cheeks. She doesn’t notice everyone staring. She’s more worried about the fact that Peter now knows she’s an acquaintance of Moaning Myrtle, who is, quite possibly, the most annoying ghost that has ever been stuck on this hell of a world.

There’s a chorus of ‘woah’ from Peter as she pulls him up the stairs and to the bathroom; Lara Jean ignores him.

Once she gets to the bathroom, she lets go of his hand and moves to the sink to gently splash her face with cold water. Peter seems to keep opening and closing his fist – no thanks to the death grip Lara Jean had on him.

“So what was it that you needed to say to me?” she questions, as she leans back against the sink in effort to make herself seem cooler.

She’s very sure she just looks ridiculous, but she’s a Slytherin so like, maybe it’ll straighten itself out.

“I might have accidentally told Gen that we were dating,” he says; his face gets all scrunched up like he’s asking a question – she almost has the nerve to call it cute, except he kind of dropped a massive dung bomb on her just now.

“You _what?_ ”

“Well, we sit next to each other in potions, and she has always been wary about you –“

“So because we sit next to each other in potions and Gen hates me, _you_ decided it would be a good idea to lie and say that we’re dating –“

“I never said it was a good idea,” he mutters. Lara Jean barely hears him over her own impending doom.

“ _She’s gonna kill me,”_ she says to herself, “Oh, my God, _Gen’s gonna fucking kill me._ ”

“She won’t kill you, but she definitely might try to poison you,” he adds.

Lara Jean hexes him.

“I,” she fixes her skirt and her robe, “will talk to you later once that wears off. I’ll be in the library at around six.”

She doesn’t bother to wait to hear his response.

(Again ,with the savage exits; way to go, Lara Jean.)

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

She does meet Peter in the library later that evening. She’s had her time to think about the situation, and she decides that it couldn’t hurt to act on the lie a little bit. She’s got nothing to lose (except her life), and while Lara Jean’s never been particularly spiteful in her life, it might be nice to make Gen angry.

And - she might have come across the realization that she possibly could have a crush on Peter.

They draw up a contract – of things he can and cannot do. He can’t kiss her, or talk to her about stupid things in potions, or expect her act differently now that she’s fake dating him.

He has some rules too – like she’s got to go to his Quidditch matches (which she already goes to because Kitty is his team’s seeker), and parties, and go out together on the Hogsmeade weekends– and she has to help him in potions.

Because he sucks at it.

Oh – and no one’s allowed to know about their whole arrangement.

The terms are set, and Lara Jean jokes about making an unbreakable vow. Peter does not find this funny.

So they sign a piece of parchment instead.

It’s very anti-climactic.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Lara Jean spends Christmas at home; the usual Christmas traditions appear – many cookies are made and consumed. Lara Jean forces Kitty and Margot (and her father) to watch the Doctor Who marathon with her, and they have a nice little gathering of close friends and family with them.

The only abnormality is that she gets a letter – in the mail nonetheless – and she’s a little confused.

The return address is Peter’s.

She clutches the envelope close to her chest and dashes up the stairs and into her room to open the damned thing.

He’s written her a letter – on Christmas stationary, mind you, and if this whole fake-dating thing wasn’t fake, Lara Jean might have the nerve to call it romantic.

He’s written her a fake love letter on Christmas.

Okay, so it’s _not_ a love letter, but it might as well be.

She can’t stop the smile from erupting on her face.

(But Kitty can – because she barges into Lara Jean’s room ranting about something that fourth years would find important, notices the letter in Lara Jean’s hand, and snatches it-)

“Your boyfriend’s a fucking sap, you know that?”

“ _Language_ ,” Lara Jean scolds as she takes back her letter, “and I think it’s cute.”

“To each her own,” Kitty says with a shrug.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

It’s February, and it’s cold, and it’s the weekend after Valentine’s Day – which is usually a holiday that Lara Jean enjoys, but Madame Puddifoot’s Tea Shop has taken all her enthusiasm away from the holiday. Lara Jean never wants to see the colors pink or red again. She hates the cute heart shapes, and the tiny cupids.

She tells Peter as much – even goes as far to suggest that the Hog’s Head would be better than this, but he won’t budge.

This was Gen’s favorite spot, and she’s bound to be here with her boyfriend.

So, she sips her tea (which is charmed pink), and thinks about this whole fake dating situation for a moment.

She really didn’t think it was going to last this long.

She really doesn’t know why it’s lasted this long.

Peter’s mentioned the reasoning for it in passing – to make Gen jealous and to make Gen get the hint that he’s over her.

And Lara Jean’s reason is obviously because she’s taken with him, along with the fact that she does like to see Gen a bit angry with her.

It is getting a bit annoying now, though. Lara Jean rarely has a moment of peace – she’s spending a lot of her time with Peter, and people notice Peter – so people are bound to notice her because of her association – whether or not it’s because they want her or want to be her is a different story.

She hates the attention she’s getting. She no longer who she was – she’s _Kavinsky’s girlfriend_ , _that Slytherin Bitch, the replacement,_ or other terrible, weird, disheartening things.

People pay attention to her when she enters a room now, and, again, she doesn’t like the attention, but she does like the power that comes from it. She might not have the schools approval, but that doesn’t matter – if Lara Jean wears a scrunchie in her hair, so will other girls – it’s menial stuff like that that frightens her because she likes the way people revere her now.

It’s not something she’s used to, to put it mildly.

She misses the little inside jokes, she misses the Saturday nights spent with Chris lurking around the castle, she misses how some things used to be.

And, now that she’s thinking of it – she’s a little confused – Peter’s been a good friend throughout this whole thing - contrary to what she would have believed – but he still writes her notes.

While they are never nearly as long as the note he wrote to her on Christmas, they are usually full of nice, kind, appreciative words – like that time he got an E on his potions essay because of her help and he wrote her a note about it, or when he’ll see her in passing and slip something in her pocket and it’ll read _you looked pretty today <3 _in his messy scrawl, or when he’ll hand her a paper right before one of his Quidditch matches that says _can’t wait to find you in the stands today._

These notes do not seem friendly.

These notes do seem to be getting her hopes up.

Lara Jean wishes desperately that her hopes would just stay where they are; Peter’s a marvelous friend (and she’s sure he could be an even more marvelous boyfriend).

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

March is perhaps the most eye opening month yet.

Gen breaks up with her boyfriend; she tells this to Peter when he’s sitting with Lara Jean at breakfast; Lara Jean thinks this is incredibly rude – she and Peter were in the middle of an interesting conversation about cheese

“Yeah, whatever, Gen,” Peter says offhandedly, not turning to face her, instead looking very interested in the depth and color of Lara Jean’s eyes.

Lara Jean looks right back (and Gen leaves, obviously not happy with the lack of reaction).

Lara Jean’s never really noticed how soft Peter looks; She’s always considered him fit – playing Quidditch will do that to a person; he’s always been all muscle and angles to her, but now she’s seeing that there’s something else there, something to contradict the harshness.

His eyes are deeper now, his face emotes more than words ever could, his body moves more fluidly – like each action has a purpose, and less like he’s just a cocky piece of shit boy who plays Quidditch.

Not that Peter was ever a piece of shit (or stupid, for that matter; if he puts his mind to it, he gets rather good marks), her conception was just clouded. It’s a bit how people only see her as a Slytherin - there is no merit nor assessment of her character other than that of her House.

Peter Kavinsky is not the boy she remembers, but he is not the boy that she’s heard about, either. He is not Gen's. He is not hers. He is not Gryffindor’s, nor is he Hogwarts’.

Peter Kavinsky is his own unique person, and Lara Jean feels rather guilty that she failed to understand that sooner.

She finally feels it’s time to look away from his eyes, and then continues with the cheese conversation as if she didn’t just have a mind altering revelation.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

With May comes the Quidditch Cup. Slytherin was knocked out of contention by Ravenclaw, so she feels no guilt whatsoever as she cheers on Gryffindor (specifically Kitty and Peter).

She knows that Peter’s looking for her in the stands, so she’s sure to be extra loud and annoying (she can measure her level of noise by how enthusiastic Chris is; the louder, the better).

She likes to think that Peter brags about how Lara Jean comes to all his matches, or about how lucky he is to have a (fake) girlfriend who cares so much about what he’s passionate about (and he cares about her passion for writing right back).

She likes to think that Peter’s come to care for her as she’s come to care for him – in a completely honest and true way.

She doesn’t hope though; that makes her seem desperate.

 

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Peter has one of the best games of his career as a Gryffindor chaser. He sets a new record for most goals scored in a match, and Kitty catches the snitch right as she’s about to fall off her broom.

It’s a nail biter, but it wouldn’t be the Quidditch Cup if it wasn’t.

When Gryffindor wins, the stands go crazy; Chris, who is fueled by the energy of others, looks like she’s about to combust. Lucas, who never really cared for Quidditch is suddenly transformed into a super-fan, and Lara Jane – well Lara Jane can’t wait to find Peter.

The Gryffindor students find a way to rush the field, and Lara Jane is too far back to get anywhere near her fake boyfriend – especially now that he’s hoisted on the shoulders of his fellow housemates. She’s able to wave at him, before Chris grabs her hand and tells her about the Party that’s going to be happening in the Gryffindor tower tonight.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Somehow, Chris sneaks her in. She’s got Kitty’s Gryffindor sweater on and a yellow scrunchie in her hair. She’s got a cup of butterbeer in her hand, and Chris is trying to convince Lara Jean to do a shot of Fire Whisky with her.

Lara Jean politely declines.

She’s looking everywhere for Peter – who has now been dubbed Gryffindor’s Golden Boy – but she can’t seem to find him.

Which is annoying.

She sees Gen sulking in the corner with one of her friends. Lara Jean waves hello which is petty, even for her.

What can she say, it’s the Slytherin in her.

She finishes the little bit of butterbeer that’s left in her cup and is about to find her way over to where the drinks are, when she feels two arms snake around her waist.

This was not in the contract.

Lara Jean doesn’t care.

“Hey,” he says into the crook of her neck.

“Hey,” she says right back, “Congrats on the win.”

“What can I say?  I had my lucky charm there.”

“Ha ha, Kavinsky, very funny,” she rolls her eyes. He removes his arms from around her and practically works magic when he spins her around so that she’s facing him. She wants to desperately say something, but she can’t.

All she knows is that she keeps alternating between looking into his eyes and at his lips, and she’s very sure that she’d like to kiss him. Peter gulps, and she decides to hope for once in her life.

She kisses him.

He’s very receptive to the whole thing, and for a few brief moments it feels like it’s just Lara Jean Covey and Peter Kavinsky in the Gryffindor common room. This is not a fairy tale kiss like the ones in the Disney movies she used to watch with her father. This is not the kiss she hears about in songs, or reads in trashy romance novels, or watches on tv.

This kiss is uniquely Peter and Lara Jean – it’s soft, and it’s gentle; it’s strong and true and brave and ambitious –

It’s something that can’t be duplicated.

They only stop when the applause comes into focus; Lara Jean presses herself into Peter’s chest, hiding the smile on her face, as he tells everyone to screw off.

When everyone goes back to doing whatever it was that they were previously occupied with, Peter kisses the top of her head, “You’re something else, Covey.”

“I know,” she smiles, “And you love it.”

“Yeah, I do.”

**Author's Note:**

> VALIDATE ME PLS!!!!


End file.
